A camshaft for use in an internal combustion engine of a type having spring loaded cam followers experiences a series of oppositely directed torque pulses during each revolution of the camshaft. The positive-going portion of each pulse occurs as a result of the need to apply torque to the camshaft to cause each of its operating cams to rotate against the force of the cam follower during the opening of the valve which is operated by such cam follower, and the negative-going portion occurs as the result of the application of an oppositely directed torque to the camshaft as the operating cam resists the force of the cam follower during the closing of the valve.
The resulting torque pulsations in a camshaft introduce an undesirably high level of backlash, vibration, noise and wear into the camshaft and the elements that drive it, especially with respect to an intake camshaft which is phase adjusted relative to an exhaust camshaft, and especially when the use of roller cam followers reduces friction along with its biasing effect on the torque pulsations.